Louisiana Tech wins Independence Bowl 17-10 over Northern Illinois

INDEPENDENCE BOWL : Bulldogs pull off 7th comeback victory
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted on Monday, December 29, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Sports/247996/
SHREVEPORT - Phillip Livas returned a kickoff 97 yards, Daniel Porter rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown and Louisiana Tech won the Independence Bowl by beating Northern Illinois 17-10 on Sunday.

It was Louisiana Tech's first postseason victory since the 1977 Independence Bowl and the Bulldogs' seventh come-from-behind victory of the season in what was essentially a home game. The Bulldogs (8-5), from nearby Ruston, haven't won eight games since 1999.

The victory over Northern Illinois (6-7) marks a quick turnaround under Coach Derek Dooley, former protege of Nick Saban and son of former Georgia Coach and Athletic Director Vince Dooley. As his father did, Dooley won his first bowl.

Two seasons ago, the Bulldogs won three games, but they earned their first bowl trip since the 2001 Humanitarian Bowl in a topsy-turvy season that started with an upset of Mississippi State and ended with a surprise trip to Shreveport when neither the SEC nor the Big 12 could provide bowl-eligible teams.

Much of the scoring and all the big plays came in the first half. Northern Illinois dominated the first quarter with advantages of 11:46 to 3:14 in time of possession and 125-23 in total yards. The Huskies scored on Chandler Harnish's 8-yard pass to fullback Kyle Skarb in the left flat, his fifth consecutive completion for 53 yards on the drive.

But poor special teams helped erase the Huskies' advantage. First, Livas broke a tackle at midfield and shook Chase Carter at the 30 with a dynamic stop-andgo move on the ensuing kickoff. It was the eighth nonoffensive touchdown of the season for the Bulldogs, moving them into tie for the most in major college football. It also was the second longest kickoff return for a touchdown in the Independence Bowl and the first since Mississippi's Deuce McAllister did it in 1998.

N. Illinois 7 0 3 0 - 10 Louisiana Tech 7 7 3 0 - 17 First Quarter

NIU-Skarb 8 pass from Harnish (Salerno kick), 1:56. LaT-Livas 97 kickoff return (Oestriecher kick), 1:43.

Second Quarter

LaT-Porter 11 run (Oestriecher kick), 13:41.

Third Quarter

LaT-FG Perkins 33, 11:54. NIU-FG Salerno 20, 7:31. Attendance-41,567.

NIU LaT

First downs ..................................17 12 Rushes-yards ...........................31-153 31-92 Passing........................................186 144 Comp-Att-Int ........................... 20-41-2 12-27-0 Return Yards .................................0 5 Punts-Avg. ................................6-35.3 8-35.6 Fumbles-Lost ..............................3-1 2-1 Penalties-Yards ..........................7-70 6-40 Time of Possession .................. 33:12 26:48

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-N. Illinois, Spann 14-79, Harnish 12-61, Palmer 1-12, M.Brown 1-2, Grady 2-1, Team 1-(minus 2). Louisiana Tech, Porter 18-78, Livas 3-15, P.Jackson 5-9, Q.Harris 1-6, Jenkins 4-(minus 16). PASSING-N. Illinois, Harnish 20-40-2-186, Simon 0-1-0-0. Louisiana Tech, Jenkins 12-27-0-144. RECEIVING-N. Illinois, Simon 6-44, Perez 2-44, Cunningham 2-26, Cox 2-15, Spann 2-15, Turner 2-15, Flahive 1-8, Skarb 1-8, M.Brown 1-6, B.Davis 1-5. Louisiana Tech, Livas 4-18, Tuminello 2-30, Beck 2-17, P.Jackson 1-34, Porter 1-24, Morris 1-15, Womack 1-6.

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